After struggling in the first half of the game Thursday night, the Mexico Lady Bulldogs came out on fire in the second half to defeat the Marshall Lady Owls 50-33 in first round of Class 4 District 8 competition Gary Filbert Court at MHS. The game was postponed Monday due to the impending snowstorm.

"A 10-0 start in the third quarter got us on track after a slow start in the first half. Karen Baker and Kelli Ingrum were big on the boards for us last night giving us a number of second shot opportunities," stated MHS Coach Ed Costley.

The lead went back and forth throughout the first half of the game with the teams exchanging baskets, including back to back 3-pointers. With the score tied at 20 in the second quarter, Alison Mudd hit a 3-pointer giving Mexico the lead which they never gave up for the remainder of the game.

"Alison hit a big 3 at the buzzer going into halftime to give us a 23-20 edge, said Costley.

The Lady Dawgs came out in the second half ready to play and quickly took a 33-20 lead.

"Brooke (Costley) scored the first 8 points of the third quarter that sparked our run," said the coach.

While Mexico's offense exploded in the third quarter, the defense stepped up their game as well and kept the Lady Owls to 4 points in the quarter. In the final quarter of the game, Mexico kept the Lady Owls from double figures allowing them only 9 points. In the second half of the game, the Lady Dawgs kept the Lady Owls to 13 points, opposed to the 20 points in the first half.

The Lady Dawgs shot 22 percent from the field in the first half, increasing it to 43 percent in the second. They were also 40 percent from 3-point range and were 13-20 at the free throw line for the game.

Senior Brooke Costley led the team with 18 points, followed by sophomore Alison Mudd with 11. Junior Kelli Ingrum led the team with 8 rebounds.

Costley said his team will have a tough challenge tonight against Helias. The game will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Prior to the girls game, Mexico Bulldogs will play at 6 p.m. in the semi-final game against Kirksville.